Human Rights Concern - Eritrea (HRCE) is an independent, non-profit making, human rights organization based in UK. The organization is dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights of Eritreans at home and all over the world. HRCE believes that all human beings are equal regardless of race, religion, gender and political affiliation and strives for a peaceful Eritrea where fundamental human rights are respected.

700 Eritreans Threatened with Forcible Deportation from the USA

We have become aware of the directive by the United States Department of Homeland Security on September 13, 2017 to expedite the deportation of approximately 700 Eritreans from U.S.A. back to Eritrea. Those 700 individuals– many or most of them believed to be law-abiding residents – appear to be at immediate risk of being forcibly returned to their country of origin.

USA’s Obligations under International Covenants and Treaties

Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE) finds this deportation decision to be most reprehensible and to be against the commitments of the United States of America under international covenants and treaties, notably the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees (UNCSR), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Under Article 14 of the UDHR, “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, and to seek safety. Under the UNCSR, that right of refuge is available to anyone who, “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” has had to avail himself of the protection of another country. Given the likelihood that deportees would be tortured upon their return to Eritrea, as described below, the deportation would also violate the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Dangers to the Human Rights and Welfare of Eritrean Citizens

We believe that essentially all Eritrean asylum seekers in the USA have a very well-founded and justified fear of being returned to their country of origin due to the persecution they have suffered, political structures and lack of any legal protections within that country. Every international report on human rights in Eritrea indicates that there is no rule of law and no protection of rights for any citizen. As the UN Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights in Eritrea (UN COIE) declares, “There is no independent judiciary, there is a rule of law vacuum, resulting in a climate of impunity for crimes against humanity. These crimes are still occurring. “Eritrean officials have committed crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts, as part of a widespread and systematic campaigns against the civilian population since 1991.”

The Right to Leave One’s Country

In Eritrea, there is no respect for article 13 of the UDHR, which states that “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own”. Those who exercise this right are branded as

criminals by the Eritrean government. Consequently, all Eritrean citizens who leave their country without government permission have “a well-founded fear of persecution” from their government for an offence which is clearly political in nature.

The Fate of Eritrean Citizens Returned to their Country

The crucial matter regarding this removal decision is the fate of forcibly returned emigrants who left Eritrea without government permission. Evidence abounds that they face imprisonment, possible torture, and appalling conditions.

In addition, returnees are forced to pay a retroactive 2% tax, as well as signing a “repentance” form, and have to accept any punishment for this law-breaking confession. Many risk facing incommunicado detention, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, upon return.

The UN mandated Commission of Inquiry on the situation of human rights in Eritrea (COIE), in its June 2015 report, in page 114, 115, 118, paragraphs 431, 432, 433 and 444 respectively, documented its investigation on forcible deportation of Eritreans and on the way the Eritrean government treats the deportees as follows:

“Individuals forcefully repatriated are inevitably considered as having left the country unlawfully, and are consequently regarded as serious offenders, but also as “traitors.” A common pattern of treatment of returnees is their arrest upon arrival in Eritrea. They are questioned about the circumstances of their escape, whether they received help to leave the country, how the flight was funded, whether they contact with opposition groups based abroad, etc. Returnees are systematically ill-treated to the point of torture during the interrogation phase.”

“After interrogation, they are detained in particularly harsh conditions, often to ensure that they will not escape again. Returnees who spoke to the Commission were held in prison between eight months to three years. Male returnees from [country A] were held on Dhalak Island after a few months of detention at Adi Abeito. Deportees from other countries were held in prisons such as Prima Country and Wi’a.”

“Witnesses who spoke to the Commission noted the severe conditions during their detention. They were made to undertake forced labour and were frequently punished by prison guards for inconsequential matters.”

“The Commission finds that, with a few exceptions, those who have been forced to return to the country have been arrested, detained and subjected to ill-treatment and torture. Other Eritreans voluntarily returning to their country may face arbitrary arrest, in particular if they are perceived as having associated with opposition movements abroad.”

In September and October 2002, 234 Eritreans were forcibly and inhumanly deported from Malta. Here is the link to a documentary by HRCE of young deported Eritreans recollection of torture and suffering they experienced under the Eritrean government upon their return: http://hrc-eritrea.org/voice-of-torture-documentary/

If an Eritrean, whose only crime was to flee persecution, exercise the universal right to leave her or his own country, faces imprisonment and inhumane treatment upon return, how can the U.S. Department of Homeland Security logically enforce an immigration court decision that she or he faces no real threat, or that she or he has no “well-founded fear of persecution” if returned?

The UN Refugee Convention (UNCSR) is very clear on this matter: “No Contracting State shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened.”

The UN Refugee Agency, (UNHCR) in its March 2005, position document, advises that “asylum claims submitted by Eritrean asylum seekers should undergo a careful assessment to determine their needs for international protection. It is also recommended that states refrain from all forced returns or rejected asylum seekers to Eritrea and grant them complementary forms of protection instead, until further notice.” The notice is still valid.

In light of the above, we vehemently object to the injustice of the Department of Homeland Security’s directive, and demand that it be reviewed taking into account the fully accredited evidence of the UN Commission of Inquiry and the attached UNHCR position document.

We trust that forced removal will not be implemented in these or any other similar cases.

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Recently, the Information Minister of Eritrea, Mr Yemane Gebermeskel, confirmed that indefinite National Service is going to remain without fundamental change, but that the government is planning to increase the present very low wages paid to conscripts: Eritrea won't shorten national service despite migration fears.

In effect, Eritrea is not prepared to stop forcing its youth into lengthy stretches of work as soldiers and civil servants, a conscription policy that is driving waves of refugees to leave the country to escape from compulsory National Service for an unlimited-period. Each month as many as 5,000 people flee Eritrea, according to U.N. figures.

National Service Labor

Legally, all Eritrean citizens, male and female, between the ages of 18 and 40, must complete 18 months of service to the state. But those who flee from the country say that this National Service can stretch to 15 years and even more. The government reserves the right to extend the length of service for any citizen without limit. Officially, compulsory military service does not extend beyond the age of 50, but one man was still in compulsory National Service at the age of 68. Eritreans in National Service receive military training for 6 months, and some may supposedly move into other government employment, including the civil service. At the end of active military service, citizens are supposed to have the right to return to their previous employment, but many are forced into government employment, only to become what might be termed “slave labourers” in construction and other industries, with no rights or freedom to leave this employment. During this period, the conscript is paid a wage, which is roughly equivalent to10 US Dollars per month.

In law and on paper, Eritrean military “training” (for 6 months) followed by “active military service” last in total for 18 months. Officially, when he or she has completed active military service, a conscripted citizen can leave the army. But a citizen who has completed active military service is often immediately and legally compelled to enter full time “Reserve” military service, which can extend “until he/she is released”. Anyone who tries to avoid or escape this compulsory employment is automatically imprisoned as an absconder, and severely tortured.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has the right to work and to free choice of employment in just and favourable conditions”, and the “right to just and favourable remuneration.” There is clearly no free choice of employment for anyone subjected to Eritrean National Service, notably when it ends and he or she is drafted into labour not of their choice, for which he or she is paid a pittance. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also declares that “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement within the borders of each state”, and the “right to leave his own country” to “seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” There is a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy, and no one who is involved in Eritrean National Service enjoys these rights to movement or to seek refuge elsewhere from an unjust regime.

The United Nations Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur to review human rights in Eritrea. In her 2014 report, she stated that the numbers of National service evaders or escapees and those suspected of wanting to flee or caught during flight.... may reach tens of thousands. ”Such persons are invariably arrested and detained. Detainees are held without being informed about the reason for their arrest and without an arrest warrant”. (sections 51 and 52). Eritrea justifies its retention of national service and harsh treatment of refugees and absconders from the military by citing continuing hostilities with Ethiopia.

But the Rapporteur declared, “Eritrea cannot use border disputes as an excuse to continue to violate its human rights obligation...the state obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights domestically is not dependent on external factors....The open-ended nature of national service is depriving the women and men of Eritrea of their most productive years, forcing them to cross borders to take their destiny into their own hands”. (sections 95 & 96)

In response to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Eritrea’s Human Rights in 2014, the government of Eritrea rejected recommendations to end enforced and indefinite-term military service, but stated that it had begun its demobilization programme in 2002. There is absolutely no evidence of any such demobilization. In the same UPR, the Government of Eritrea also rejected recommendations concerning conscription and abuse of child soldiers, stating that there is no under-age recruitment in Eritrea’s military. But students aged 16 and more are recruited every year into the Sawa Military Academy, starting their military training before they have become adults.

The Eritrean Government must listen to the international community and experts appointed by the United Nations and end the whole process of compulsory and indefinite National Military Service, putting a strict enforceable limit of not more than 18 months to the term of compulsory National Service; and Eritrea must offer non-military options for such Service. The Eritrean government must be told that conscripts are not slaves and they should not be held against their will in the military. No one must be arrested, imprisoned, or punished or shot for attempting to leave the military to lead a life of his/her choice, which is an inalienable right guaranteed under international law.